Mussels with Tomato, Fennel and Saffron
There is already a tomato and chilli mussels recipe on here, so this one has to earn its place on the site. It does that with saffron and fennel, which push the whole dish somewhere else entirely, much closer to the south of France than to a pasta sauce with shells sitting in it.
Saffron is the expensive part and there is no substitute worth bothering with. A large pinch is genuinely all you need for two people, and it goes in with the garlic so that the oil turns gold before any liquid arrives. That is what carries the colour through the finished dish.
Fennel cooked slowly loses its aniseed edge almost entirely and turns sweet and soft, so do not rush those first eight minutes. If you are unconvinced by fennel generally, this tends to be the recipe that changes minds, because what you taste at the end is sweetness rather than liquorice.
Sort the mussels carefully first, throwing out any that are cracked or that stay open when tapped, and any that stay shut after cooking. Serve with a great deal of bread. My mussels in tomato and chilli is the sharper, simpler cousin of this one.
Mussels with Tomato, Fennel and Saffron
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Serves: 2 people
Serving size: 691g
Calories per serving: 548
Fat per serving: 28.1g
Ingredients
- 1.5kg live mussels, scrubbed and debearded
- 1 fennel bulb, halved and finely sliced
- 2 shallots, finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, finely sliced
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- Large pinch of saffron threads
- 150ml dry white wine
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- Small bunch of flat-leaf parsley (chopped)
- Crusty bread to serve
Method
- Scrub the mussels under cold water and pull away any beards, discarding any that are cracked or that will not close when tapped firmly.
- Warm the olive oil in a very large pan and add the sliced fennel and shallots. Cook gently for 8 minutes, until soft and sweet but not coloured.
- Add the sliced garlic and the saffron and cook for another minute, until fragrant and the oil has turned deep gold.
- Pour in the white wine and let it bubble hard for 2 minutes, then add the chopped tomatoes and simmer for 8 minutes, until slightly thickened.
- Tip in the mussels, clamp the lid on and cook for 4-5 minutes, shaking the pan once, until the shells have opened.
- Discard any mussels that stayed shut, stir most of the parsley through the sauce and serve with the rest scattered over and plenty of bread.
Nutrition
| Nutrition information | Per serving (691g) |
|---|---|
| Energy | 2293kJ / 548kcal |
| Fat | 28.1g |
| of which saturates | 4.2g |
| Carbohydrate | 34.8g |
| of which sugars | 13.4g |
| Fibre | 9.8g |
| Protein | 29.2g |
| Salt | 2.2g |
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central for the ingredients as listed. Salt excludes seasoning added to taste. Values not shown could not be calculated reliably.
